In the performance of war, who are the winners and who are the losers?
That’s the central question of writer/director Hailey Benton Gates’ feature film debut, “Atropia.” The Sundance Jury Prize-winning war satire dropped its trailer on Wednesday, setting the stage for stars Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner.
“Welcome to Atropia: a fake nation created by the U.S. military to train soldiers before their deployment. These simulated towns — built by Hollywood set designers — are brought to life by role-players hired to create a sense of ‘authenticity,’” Vertical teases. “When an aspiring actress (Shawkat) in a military role-playing facility falls in love with a soldier (Turner) cast as an insurgent, their un-simulated emotions threaten to derail the performance.”
The movie also stars Zahra Alzubaidi, Tony Shawkat, Jane Levy, Tim Heidecker, Lola Kirke and Chloë Sevigny.
“I initially wanted to make a documentary about these fake villages that were built on bases in the U.S. after 9/11 to train soldiers before they deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan,” Gates previously told TheWrap at Sundance. “The military was not so keen on the version of the doc that I wanted to make, so we decided to be satire.”
Luca Guadagnino produced the film alongside Naima Abed, Emilie Georges, Lana Kim and Jett Steiger (marking a second 2025 collaboration between the “After the Hunt” filmmaker and Sevigny).
“Atropia” hits select theaters on Dec. 12, with plans for a wider release in January 2026.
